I got into a road bike accident. Got into emergency room. Spend there a couple hours and was released after this.

I do not think that HN is not the place to discuss the limitations and advantages of the US healthcare system.

It just reminded me that there is still a big market opportunity and ways to reduce costs for machine learning in the field of medical imaging.

How do people manage without insurance in the USA (I worked on work & travel for 7 months total without any insurance. Holly 20s :)

I was told that the system works like this:

1. Doctors estimate how good the insurance is. 2. If it is good they create a huge bill. 3. Health insurance negotiates the discount and it can be big. 4. Regardless of your insurance you pay plus/minus the same.

Why? Unclear.

About being in US for a long time and not having the insurance.

I like rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding. The chance of an accident in these sports is rather high. I would feel uncomfortable doing them without insurance.

Yep, the way US hospitals calculate prices and they way they negotiate this with insurance company looks ridiculous. It took me a few years to stop paying attention to this (assuming you have a good insurance!).

I have good insurance, so my payment is not as striking as $50k in the bill.

But I am very curious, what part of the scans can cost $30k.

Requested itemized statement, but did not get it yet.

I could buy a new apartment for this money :harold:

It is not the case in San Francisco :)

But yes, it is a material sum of money that I prefer to spend on other activities.